INDEPENDENCE, Ohio _ After sitting out the first three preseason games and missing the majority of training camp, LeBron James wanted to test his sprained left ankle Tuesday night against the Chicago Bulls.
From a team perspective, James also wanted a chance to blend with the Cavaliers' three new starters _ four if you count Kevin Love's switch from power forward to center.
James might have been second-guessing that decision on Wednesday.
After playing nearly 30 minutes against the Bulls, James was unable to practice Wednesday, will skip Thursday's session and will not play in Friday's preseason finale at the Orlando Magic, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said.
Lue is unsure about the four-time league Most Valuable Player's status for the Cavs' season opener Oct. 17 at home against the Boston Celtics.
"Got treatment all day today, so I'm not sure if we should be concerned or not," Lue said of the opener. "But it's pretty sore today, so we'll just see what happens."
As for James' mood, Lue said, "Pretty mad, pretty pissed off."
James was initially hurt during the Cavs' second day of practice Sept. 27 when a teammate stepped on his foot in transition. He said Monday that it was serious enough that it would have kept him out of a regular season game and hoped it wouldn't "be a lingering thing."
Then James appeared to tweak the ankle in the first quarter of Tuesday's 108-94 loss to the Chicago Bulls at Quicken Loans Arena when he was tripped on a spin move to the basket and lost his balance. After a timeout, he remained in the game and finished with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists along with eight turnovers.
"I'm pushing through it right now," he said after the game. "I just wanted to try and test my foot, test my ankle to see how I would come out [of] tonight. So, obviously tonight and tomorrow morning it's going to be a telltale sign.
"I'm still fresh from the game so it's OK now, but you never know when you wake up the next morning how it can flare up or if it can stiffen on you. I'll know more about it tomorrow. But I definitely wanted to test it tonight knowing that I have a week until the regular season started if I don't play in the game on Friday."
James will undergo round-the-clock treatment, surely intent on playing against former teammate Kyrie Irving and the Celtics. He has never missed an opener in his 14 seasons.
James being sidelined is a blow to the Cavs' first unit, disjointed and plagued by errors against the Bulls. The Cavs committed 16 turnovers through three quarters, with the starters sitting out the fourth. In that same span, they made only 13-of-28 shots in the paint, went 1-for-8 on second-chance points, and were tied 39-39 on the boards by the rebuilding Bulls. Love and Dwyane Wade shot a combined 2-for-19 from the field.
The Cavs have added point guard Derrick Rose, Wade, and power forward Jae Crowder to the lineup and moved Love to center and Tristan Thompson to the second unit. Through four preseason games, all losses, Rose has been the most consistent player, but he will become the backup point guard when former Celtic Isaiah Thomas returns from the torn labrum in his right hip by Jan. 1.
Lue said J.R. Smith will replace James in the lineup Friday and Jose Calderon will move into Smith's spot with the second team.
At practice Wednesday, Lue took sets out of the offense because of horrible spacing evident against the Bulls. James might have to watch those changes on video if he's unable to observe practice.
Love said the Cavs have no choice but to try to build cohesion among the starting unit without James.
"We have to," Love said. "He's pretty easy to play with because he's going to distribute that ball and set our pace, set our tempo and we feed off him. It's a luxury that we have by having him on our squad, being our leader, but do we wish we had a little more time with him in the preseason? Yes. But we have to make do with what we have."
